Decorations, a Jily Christmas AU
by Dragongrrl7
Summary: Lily and James meet, as Muggles, in a Christmas decoration store. James is shy at first but it ends in Christmas joy :)
1. Chapter 1: Decorations

you keep coming into the store i work at to buy wreaths, what are you doing with all of these wreaths? Au (from tumblr user captainasexual)

Lily Evans sighed, brushing pine needles out of her hair. She was half-covered in sticky sap and smelled fiercely of evergreens. Her hands were sore from tying wreath after wreath, and not for the first time she wished there was some magical way to make things go faster. It wasn't like this job paid all that well, either. _Your shift's over in ten minutes, _she consoled herself. _Probably there won't even be more customers. _

Just then, the door chimed, and someone entered the shop, stooping a little to avoid the low lintel. He ran a hand through a spiky black mop of hair, an uncertain look on his face. "Um, I'd like to buy a wreath?"

"That's what we sell here," Lily said, chuckling tiredly.

"I know. Sorry. I'm a bit distracted."

"That's okay. Any particular kind you want?"

"No. I don't think so. It's for my mum. She's gone slightly mad with the decorating."

"I understand," Lily replied. "Mine's the same." She picked a small one with holly woven in from the wall behind the counter, and briskly ran the transaction through.

He paid and left, looking back for a moment as he went through the door, and she smiled. _Time to go home._

The next day, around the middle of her shift, the boy—mostly a man, really—came in again.

"More decorating?" Lily asked.

"Yeah. Kind of a drag."

"Pick one out, then. Sorry about your mum," she said impishly.

He looked up in surprise. "What? Oh, yeah. The decorating. I'll deal." He paid hurriedly and walked quickly out. He hit his head slightly on the lintel and cursed under his breath.

Lily watched out the small window of the door as he joined a small group of other young men and his demeanor immediately changed. He looped the wreath over the head of a short, chubby boy, casually ruffling his hair, and exchanged a complicated handshake with a tall, black-haired person. They walked off in a clump, and through the door she heard faint, slightly mocking laughter.

An hour later he was back, the wreath—slightly crumpled—in his hand. "This isn't the right one."

"Not the right one?" Lily was incredulous. "I'm not sure we've ever had someone return a wreath before."

"Well. I don't have to return it."

"No, it's okay," she said, laughing.

His face had taken on a faint red color. "No, I'll buy one. That's ok," he said hurriedly. He picked out another wreath quickly, seemingly with no particular criteria, and paid for it in such a rush that Lily asked if he was late for something.

"No, no. I'm not." His shoulders slumped.

Lily felt bad for him. "Is everything alright?"

He looked down at her sadly—he was taller than her by a good six inches. "Sort of."

"Do you want to talk about it? I'm Lily, by the way."

He cracked a smile. "Yeah, it's on your nametag."

Lily chuckled in spite of herself. "So it is."

The boy turned to leave, but looked slowly and sadly over his shoulder just before he opened the door. "I'm James, by the way. James Potter."

"It's nice to meet you, James Potter," she said, and smiled. When she went home that evening, the look he'd given her as he left lingered in her mind. If Lily hadn't known better, she would've sworn that long, sad look was one of longing.

The next day was December 23rd, the day before Christmas Eve, and Lily was kept busy all day. By the time James walked into the shop, as she'd expected he would, she looked a mess, her dark red hair pulled back in a messy bun and pine sap coating her hands once again. This visit was different; James strode through the door almost purposefully, retaining a hint of the cockiness Lily had glimpsed when he was outside the shop.

She looked up from her work, flashing her brightest smile. "Back for more wreaths?"

"Um, no," James said, looking a bit queasy.

"Garlands, then?" Lily asked, teasing.

"No." He took a deep breath. "Doyouwanmgotwme."

"What?"

"Do you. Want to. Go out with me. Lily," James pronounced. "Please," he added. "I didn't mean to sound rude."

She smiled slowly, enjoying his squirming for a moment. _I'm sure such an attractive bloke can afford to squirm a little. _"Yes. I'd love to."

He grinned, a wide, confident smile that made her heart flutter. "I'm—genuinely so glad. Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet, Potter. You've yet to get to know me."

He nodded slowly, a cocky grin spreading across his face. "Yeah, but I think I'm _really _going to enjoy the process."


	2. Chapter 2: Fast

Jily college AU [contains smut] (sort of a continuation of this fic [decorations], which was based on a prompt from tumblr user captainasexual. Gonna tag [these tumblr users], who requested smut.)

Lily Evans had been checking her phone far too often for the past few days, and she knew that. She was sitting at a desk in the library, trying to study for a lit final, when she felt hands slide over her eyes, blocking her vision.

A familiar voice hissed into her ear. "You don't even need to guess who, because this isn't a romance—it's an intervention. Stop looking at your phone."

She pulled the hands off her eyes and turned around, glaring up at the tall blonde who stood behind her. "So you accost me in a public library, huh, Marlene?"

Marlene grinned unapologetically. "Yep. I mean, you've got to let it go. You met him over break. Term's started. You don't even know if he goes here."

Lily groaned softly. "Yeah, I know. I know. But, like…I really _want _him to go here." She stood up and slung her backpack over her shoulder. "Let's go. You're right. I need a change of pace."

Marlene slung her arm over Lily's shoulder just as Lily's phone buzzed. She grabbed it and saw that it was from an unknown number, and took a moment to look up at her friend excitedly. "Well, go on," Marlene urged.

She unlocked the iPhone with shaking hands and read, "Hey, Lily. It's James Potter. We met a couple of days ago at your work, and I was wondering if you'd like to go out sometime? Sorry for replying late. My horrible friends screwed up my phone service."

Lily and Marlene simultaneously let out loud squeals. "Damn right," Lily said, poking her friend in the chest.

Marlene laughed loudly and then scowled as the librarian viciously shushed them. "Let's go, Lily, we don't have time for—what's your name? Pince. We don't have time for Miss Pince, here."

Lily giggled as they walked out. "Don't you think she'll kill you the next time she sees you?"

"Nah. Don't intend to set foot in a library for the next few years."

"What should I say, Mar?"

"To Pincey?"

"No, you idiot, to James."

"Ah, right. Yes, of course! You did say he was hot."

"Yeah, but…won't I seem too eager or something?"

Her friend snorted. "Fuck that. If you want to get some, go get some."

Lily smacked her with her phone. "I'm not 'getting' anything, you perv. Just a friendly date."

"Mmhm." Marlene waggled her eyebrows and then took running, laughing wildly as Lily chased her, mock-scolding.

That night, Lily found herself waiting outside of a movie theater, shivering slightly in the cold. She wasn't waiting long, however; a beat-up old green sports car pulled up to the curb, and inside were James and one of the boys that had been with him outside of the shop where she worked. He looked around for her and she waved, laughing as a huge grin broke out across his face, which quickly changed to a frown as—Lily couldn't quite believe her eyes—the boy in the car patted James on the bum. James flipped him off, but he only laughed as he drove away.

"Sorry about that," he said as he walked up to her, looking embarrassed.

"It's fine," she laughed. "Let's go inside, it's cold—what do you want to see?"

"I really don't care," he said. "Just excited to get to know you."

Lily looked up at him doubtfully. "Really?"

He chuckled. "Okay, maybe not exactly. I'd really like to see _Fast Fight._ But whatever you want is good."

Lily groaned. "Oh, the douchiest possible action movie. Oh boy."

"You wound me!"

She laughed. "_Fast Fight _it is."

James punched the air. "Yes! I mean, thanks. Cool." He ran a hand through his tall black hair, his face a little flushed.

Lily slipped her hand into his with a sudden burst of confidence and smiled up at him. "Let's go watch this dumb movie together."

He grinned back. "There's nothing I'd rather do."


	3. Chapter 3: Sirius

Inside the theatre it was dark, and mostly empty. It was Lily's habit to sit in the middle of the middle row, but James grabbed her hand and pulled her to the back. "This is the best spot," he whispered.

"For secondary schoolers snogging, maybe," she hissed.

He put a hand on her lips, shushing her gently. "Don't want to disturb the other filmgoers, do we?"

Lily glared at him to distract herself from the way his finger felt against her lips, and felt herself blushing. She looked away as they found their seats. Somehow James' hand hadn't managed to leave hers, and she couldn't bring herself to take it away.

The movie started, but Lily wasn't really enjoying much of it; she was too focused on the feeling of James' hand in hers; his palms were oddly callused, and she wondered if it was from weightlifting or farm work or something else entirely. Occasionally he rubbed his thumb over hers, the tip of which was also callused—_from guitar playing?—_she thought, and each time he did it she had to hide her shiver.

Occasionally she glanced over at him, using only her peripheral vision. Once or twice she could've sworn he looked over at her, but she couldn't look long enough to be sure. _I've never been on a date with this much damn sexual tension, _Lily thought. _Who would've guessed Wreath Boy would be so attractive? _

Steeling herself, Lily reached for the popcorn, which she was absolutely certain was sitting between them. Unfortunately, she'd taken so much time being careful not to look at James that she hadn't noticed he'd moved it to the floor, mostly for the purpose of gradually snuggling closer and closer to her. Her hand landed on James' thigh.

She gasped out loud and froze for a moment, which was possibly the worst possible reaction, because her hand lingered over the muscle that was surprisingly easy to feel under his jeans. When Lily un-froze and slowly began to move her hand away, James placed his other hand over hers, warm and comforting and an excellent excuse to keep touching his leg. _Oh, you slag, _Lily chided herself mentally, but it wasn't any use. She was very, very happy the way she was.

The rest of the film progressed in much the same way, except that somehow in each explosion, when Lily inevitably jumped and gasped, James drew her closer in such a comforting fashion that she didn't feel justified doing anything except relaxing into him. By the end, she was somehow cuddled up against him. She had a crick in her back from leaning over the armrest of the seat, and she had absolutely no idea of the plot of the film.

They walked out into the bright light of the theatre lobby, and Lily blinked, confused by the change in lighting and by the fact that she was _still _holding James' hand. Finally getting the best of her more impulsive self, she dropped it like it had bitten her.

Without even meaning to, she looked up to gauge his reaction and saw, for a moment, genuine hurt. Then he grinned, just few watts less brilliant than the grin he'd grinned before the film, and led her out of the theatre. "I've asked Sirius to pick us up, if that's alright. But I understand if you don't trust him—or me, for that matter. We haven't known each other very long."

Lily knew that most people wouldn't have seen the decision she was about to make as a very wise one, but at this point she didn't care. _Ah, what the hell, _she thought, throwing caution to the winds. _I really sodding want to spend more time with him. _"Yeah, that's fine," she agreed, flashing James a quick smile. "That's the bloke who dropped you off, yeah?"

"Yes. He's, um, a bit cheeky. Great lad, though."

In spite of herself, Lily felt a wide smile spread across her face. "Did you just make an _arse pun _on the very first date, Potter?"

James, for the first time since he'd gotten over his initial bout of nervousness, was relatively speechless. "Oops."

Lily laughed, harder than was strictly the right amount for a first date, as her laugh was bubbly and hiccupy and, in her opinion, very unattractive.

To her surprise, James chuckled and then guffawed. "You have the cutest laugh I've ever heard in my life."

Lily smiled up at him, a real, extremely happy smile.

Just then, the old green sports car pulled up to the curb, and the young man inside wolf-whistled loudly. "Your chauffeur, madame!"

James climbed quickly into the back, patting the seat next to him invitingly and deftly smacking Sirius with his other hand.

"Ouch! D'you want someone with a concussion driving you—where _am _I driving you?"

"Firstly, your mop's got to be impeding your vision more than enough that a concussion wouldn't make much of a difference." Sirius hooted admiringly. "Secondly, I don't know. You're welcome to come hang out at our place for a little while, Lily, if you'd like," he added shyly. "We're all of us perfectly safe, I promise."

"All of you? How many are there?"

"Two others," James admitted, "but Sirius counts as four."

"So seven, total, then. That's a lucky number. Sure, why not?" _Looks like it's Questionable Decision Night, _she thought wryly.

The ride to James' flat was quite enjoyable, mostly because Sirius liked to take the turns very fast, which resulted in Lily being thrown into James' lap quite a lot, and sometimes the reverse. Lily wondered if James had put Sirius up to driving like a madman, or if he always drove like that. She had a suspicion it was the latter.

The car pulled up outside a surprisingly nice flat, and Lily got out, only shaking a little. "You know, Sirius, I think I agree with James about your hair getting in the way. It's a miracle all your passengers are still alive."

"Or _something _getting in the way," James snarked. "Could just be his brain." He dodged Sirius' punch and unlocked the door, holding it open for her. She mock-curtsied as she went through.

It wasn't horribly messy, which frankly wasn't what Lily had expected. She understood when she heard a loud sigh of relief behind her. "Oh, good," Sirius muttered to James. "Remus cleaned."

"I can hear you, you know," she called. "Who's Remus?"

"One of my flatmates," James said, "who isn't here right now. However, he and Peter could be home at any minute, possibly horribly inebriated and with hordes of unclothed girls, so it's probably best you come up to my room. For the preservation of your mental faculties."

Lily heard Sirius snort loudly behind them, but nodded gracefully anyway. "Sounds good."


End file.
